Featured Relics & Militaria
This is a totally rare German JG 26 schlageter [fighter squadron] vehicle pennant which is dated 1942 and with maker stamp as well all partly clear to see
The pennant still has its eagle and JG26 marking on each side again mostly clear to see, the pennant is very dirty and discoloured and with some damage from being buried at some point and later recovered but overall it is in very solid condition and has been carefully cleaned. The pennant still retains some original colours and is still perfect for display or any collection not braking up or falling apart and is 21 inches long by 11 inches wide at the wide point.
The pennant was found on a flea market in Flensburg there location of there final base in 1945.The time spent by Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) "Schlageter" at Flensburg Airfield lasted just five chaotic days, from May 3 to May 8, 1945. Despite the brief timeframe, their presence marked a significant and dramatic chapter in the final dissolution of the Luftwaffe
By May 1945, JG 26 was a fragment of its former self. Pushed out of airfield after airfield by the rapid British advance across northwest Germany, the wing's remaining Focke-Wulf Fw 190D "Dora" fighters landed at Flensburg. The airfield was packed with hundreds of retreating German aircraft, personnel, and members of the newly formed Flensburg Government. Fuel was so desperately scarce that routine operations were impossible, and many aircraft had to be towed into hiding places around the airfield perimeter using horses or manual labor to save petrol
Even on the day of their arrival, May 3, 1945, the war was not entirely over for some pilots. Elements of the wing flew their very last combat missions of World War II from Flensburg. Elite pilots, including highly decorated aces, engaged in final, hopeless dogfights against Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Tempests scouring northern Germany.
This is a near complete but empty and inert totally rare Japanese late war, emergency production rifle grenade which has been crudely made with basic steel case with a screw in base.
The case is missing its wood or bakelite-style plug with hole for the fuse at one end. And its small plug at the other. The grenade has none of its original black paintwork or original colouring. The steel case is pitted but solid, with no rust-through holes, and has been carefully cleaned. In nice relic condition but has corroded slightly but it is sturdy, not friable, and ideal for display or any militaria collection. The rifle grenade was recovered in the 1980's and has been in a private collection ever since it was originally found in an old Japanese defensive position on the island of Guam from the 1944 battle in the Pacific. It comes with 2xA5 laminated information cards with many pictures and map.
The Battle of Guam (21 July – 10 August 1944) was the successful American amphibious campaign to recapture the island of Guam from the Empire of Japan. Guam had been a prewar US territory since 1898 but was captured by the Japanese in December 1941. The 21-day battle was a key pillar of Operation Forager during the wider Pacific campaign of World War II.
Recently Added Relics & Militaria
This is a German soldiers M15 shovel which is rare to have the remains of its wooden handle still in place.The head is in very nice solid condition. It has cleaned up well. It is a bit pitted and rusty with a few rust holes from being buried but is a nice example and is perfect for display or any collection. The shovel head was recovered in an old German Trench line near the village of Mametz on the Somme battlefield of July 1916..The shovel comes with A5 laminated information card with pictures and map.
In June 1916, the British preliminary bombardment cut much of the barbed wire protecting the Mametz defences and destroyed many of the trenches in the first position occupied by Reserve Infantry Regiment 109 of the 28th Reserve Division. On the 1st July 1916 when the British 7th Division advanced behind a creeping barrage, much of the German front line was quickly overrun and many prisoners taken; delays further forward caused the infantry to lag behind the barrage and suffer far more casualties. Mametz was occupied during the morning by the British 20th Brigade but a German counterattack forced most of the British troops out, until a second attack during the afternoon, when the advance of the British 18th Division on the right flank, had cut the Germans in the village off from Montauban to the east. The German defence collapsed, and the 7th Division reached all its objectives on the right and in the centre and began to consolidate, ready to receive a German counterattack.
This is a Unusual part to find a very large size section of late 1916 onwards pattern barbed wire which was recovered from one of the most famous locations on the western front and the scene of Canada’s greatest victory.
The wire which is much thicker then the previous pattern but with less barbs so it was much harder to cut it is very rusty but still in solid condition and has been very well cleaned and is not breaking up or falling apart it is perfect for display or any collection and is 16 inches long. The wire section was recovered from an old defensive line on the slopes of the famous Vimy Ridge the 1917 battlefield in France. The part comes with A5 laminated information card with many picture.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a defining World War I military triumph fought from 9 to 12 April 1917 in northern France, where the Canadian Corps successfully captured a strategically vital, heavily fortified seven-kilometre escarpment from the German Army. Rising high above the Douai plain, the chalk ridge had been converted by German forces into a formidable fortress of deep tunnels, concrete bunkers, and interlocking machine-gun nests that had previously withstood catastrophic French and British assaults costing over 100,000 casualties. Under the meticulous planning of British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng and Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together as a unified force for the first time, utilizing revolutionary tactics such as the "creeping barrage"—where infantry advanced closely behind precisely timed artillery shields—and extensive underground subways to shield troops until the moment of attack. Launching their assault through a driving blizzard on Easter Monday, the Canadians overran most of the German positions by afternoon and secured the final high strongholds by 12 April; however, the victory came at a staggering human cost of 3,598 Canadian lives lost and over 7,000 wounded. The stunning success on the ridge not only delivered a critical tactical high ground to the Allies but also served as a profound national awakening for Canada, cementing the battle in history as the symbolic birthplace of Canadian independence and international identity.
This is a Unusual part to find a very large size section of late 1916 onwards pattern barbed wire which was recovered from one of the most famous locations on the western front and the scene of Canada’s greatest victory.
The wire which is much thicker then the previous pattern but with less barbs so it was much harder to cut it is very rusty but still in solid condition and has been very well cleaned and is not breaking up or falling apart it is perfect for display or any collection and is 11 inches long. The wire section was recovered from an old defensive line on the slopes of the famous Vimy Ridge the 1917 battlefield in France. The part comes with A5 laminated information card with many picture.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a defining World War I military triumph fought from 9 to 12 April 1917 in northern France, where the Canadian Corps successfully captured a strategically vital, heavily fortified seven-kilometre escarpment from the German Army. Rising high above the Douai plain, the chalk ridge had been converted by German forces into a formidable fortress of deep tunnels, concrete bunkers, and interlocking machine-gun nests that had previously withstood catastrophic French and British assaults costing over 100,000 casualties. Under the meticulous planning of British Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng and Canadian Major-General Arthur Currie, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together as a unified force for the first time, utilizing revolutionary tactics such as the "creeping barrage"—where infantry advanced closely behind precisely timed artillery shields—and extensive underground subways to shield troops until the moment of attack. Launching their assault through a driving blizzard on Easter Monday, the Canadians overran most of the German positions by afternoon and secured the final high strongholds by 12 April; however, the victory came at a staggering human cost of 3,598 Canadian lives lost and over 7,000 wounded. The stunning success on the ridge not only delivered a critical tactical high ground to the Allies but also served as a profound national awakening for Canada, cementing the battle in history as the symbolic birthplace of Canadian independence and international identity.
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This is a totally rare find from the battlefield a armour piercing projectile 8.8cm, KwK36, L/56 double driving band which was fired by German Tiger 1 tank which is complete but its ballistic cap has squashed properly from being dumped in the lake. The projectile is in nice condition with no base plug or markings on the bottom but is still has some original black paintwork remains it still has its pair of steel colour driving bands in place and complete the outer case is only lightly pitted with no holes but does have a little bit of damage and pitting but nothing to bad The projectile is completely empty and inert it has been well cleaned and overall perfect condition for display and very rare one for any collection. The projectile was recovered from a lake East of Bastogne in the Ardennes Forest from the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-45. The projectile comes with 2xA5 laminated information cards with many pictures and map also drawings.
The projectile was recovered from a lake which was used as a dump site for battlefield clearance the area where the lake is, was attacked by the German 26th Volksgrenadier Division and elements of the Panzer Lehr Division they had the only Panzer 4 tanks in the area.